After a year and three months, we closed a deal in March 2021, and a new partnership began.

Creating a Path Forward

After finalizing the sale, we began transitioning our business to align with TurnPoint’s standards. This included using new software for operations, finances, and HR and migrating all of our assets into the enterprise.

Two to three months after a transaction like this, it feels like you’re drinking from a fire hose. It takes a lot of time and patience to get through it but like any major change, we knew the journey would be worth the trip.

Telling our employees about the sale was the next challenge. We reassured them that nothing would change and Getzschman’s would operate under the same values it had for the last 61 years. We felt confident in making this promise because Ron and I plan to stay in place for the next few years to help transition the company.

The good news is that TurnPoint has done what they said they would, and there’s been minimal variance from the original plans. And that is the most important part to us – keeping promises. That is what a successful partnership is all about.

Cultivating a Cohesive Partnership

One of the things we like about TurnPoint is that their intent is NOT to change a company after acquisition, but rather play to the company’s strengths and give it the resources it needs to grow and succeed.

To do that requires them to team up with the existing owners and management team. For us, this meant selling the business wasn’t an automatic retirement.

The other promise TurnPoint made to us is that they will not change our branding. We’re still the G-Force team, and we’re Getzschman Heating. If we need to add something to enhance Getzschman’s and the G-Force team’s brand, they want us to be part of those conversations.

Keeping our identity also means our training programs remain the same. Our alignment with NCI and the high-performance HVAC approach to contracting remains strong. But now we have the resources to hire a training manager and enhance our growth through training.

The best part is that this deal still allows me to have a role in the company. We’re partners with TurnPoint in this process and still have a financial stake in the company. But it’s taken the pressure off us. We no longer hold all the risk and I believe in them and the direction they’re taking the company.

With TurnPoint, Getzschman has a partner to work with and discuss all the challenges.

But partnership is a two-way street. If you’re going to make this work, you must be willing to continue to work in the business for at least a few more years after the sale to make the transition successful for your entire team. This includes the buyer.

I plan to stay with the company for another five or 10 years. My brother intends to remain involved for three to five years. With TurnPoint’s help, this plan gives us time to put systems and people in place to guarantee Getzschman and its employees succeed and continue to prosper when we finally do step down.

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